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Victory by the volcano

The Green River, Goat Mountain, and the recovering ecosystems just north of Mount St. Helens will not be subjected to the disastrous intrusion of an open pit copper mine, and we couldn't be happier!

Conservationists around the state celebrate as a proposal for an open pit mine in Gifford-Pinchot National Forest near Mount St. Helens was rejected by the Bureau of Land Management, after they concluded that the mine was not in the public’s interest.

A section of the land to be mined had been bought with Land and Water Conservation Fund money, and the area offered excellent wildlife and recreation benefits. The mine would have been situated at the headwaters of the Green River and would have eradicated much of the 5,400 Goat Mountain. A significant tributary of the Cowlitz River, the Green River drains off mature forests harboring significant wildlife habitat, including the Tumwater Inventoried Roadless Area–key habitat for northern spotted owl. The Green River is home to threatened populations of winter steelhead and fall chinook, and a coho population currently under federal review for threatened status. The Goat Mountain trail and the Green River Horse Camp were also popular recreation areas in jeopardy.

The BLM received 33,000 comments on the issue, including those written by Conservation Northwest supporters like you.

Thank you very much to everyone who took a moment to comment. And kudos to the BLM for making the right decision.

No longer pursuing the area for mining, the Colorado company, General Moly, is now targeting two molybdenum mining projects in Nevada.